YANCHEP National Park has recently welcomed a new koala joey while also saying goodbye to 16-year-old Koodah, the last of the imported animals from Kangaroo Island in the late 1980s.
Park visitors are being invited to choose from a shortlist of names for the youngster by placing a token into one of four koala feeding tubes at the McNess House Visitors Centre.
There are four names to choose from: Karla an Aboriginal word meaning fire; Scout recognising the joey’s keenness to venture out of the pouch; Pembi a tribute to former Yanchep senior ranger John Wheeler, who was from Pemberton and Ash from the koala’s scientific name phascolarctos cinereus, which translates to ‘ash-coloured pouched bear’.
Yanchep National Park senior ranger Phillipa Jarvis Carboon said they were super excited to be able to put the naming of the new joey out to the public.
“To vote on (one of the names), if you head into McNess Visitor Centre, which is the two-story building on our lakefront area, you’ll find in there we’ve got some feed tubes,’’ she said.
“You’ll see the naming competition and then to vote, it’s just like you do at Woollies and Coles.
“You pop a token in the feed tube and that’s how we’re going to do it.
“So we’re super excited to allow the public to have a bit of a say on this one.’’
The winning name will be announced after the spring school holidays.
The new koala joey is about five months old and has recently started peeping out from her mum Poppy’s pouch during feeding time. Picture: DBCAThe new joey is about five months old, with birth estimated around mid-March, and has recently begun peeping out from mum Poppy’s pouch during feeding time.
Poppy was brought in from Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria last year and paired with Franklin Doogsie, who arrived from Cleland Wildlife Park in South Australia in late 2024.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the Yanchep koala colony played an important role in safeguarding the species by maintaining populations outside its traditional range.
“They are also a key part of WA’s nature-based tourism attractions and I hope it continues to encourage visitors to learn about this iconic Australian animal,’’ he said.
Butler MLA Lorna Clarke said it was wonderful news for staff, visitors and the community that another joey has been born at Yanchep.
“Yanchep National Park is a great driver of tourism and local jobs.
“It attracts around 450,000 visitors each year and is cherished for its trails, wildlife and unique koala colony.
“There is no better way to appreciate the outdoors than to bring the family to Yanchep.”
